


Glimpse 3: Skate Skating Skater 2 - Press Call

by CupcakeGirlA



Series: Decisions, Decisions Series [5]
Category: Olympics RPF, Real Person Fiction, Speed Skating RPF, Sports RPF
Genre: Kid Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-01-06
Updated: 2012-01-06
Packaged: 2017-10-29 01:02:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,919
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/314122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CupcakeGirlA/pseuds/CupcakeGirlA
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As the 2038 Olympics approach, 16 year old Malixi Katustoshi Ohno gives an in depth interview to the press at NBC.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Glimpse 3: Skate Skating Skater 2 - Press Call

NBC Countdown to Salt Lake City, 2038

_Tonight we’ll be continuing our coverage of the countdown to Salt Lake City Winter Olympics. In this episode we’ll be focusing on one of the Winter Olympics most captivating and controversial sports, and one of its most fascinating newcomers. His name means Speedy to Win Cleverly, and never has there been a more aptly named Short Track Speed Skater, or one with so much resting on such young shoulders_

_Malixi Katsutoshi Ohno, at just 16, is one of this year’s USA team favorites to medal. His career, even at only four years long, has already stunned the world. The son of Olympic medalists JR Celski and Apolo Anton Ohno, people have had their eye on him since he first learned to skate at just four years old. Last year at 15 years old, and just a few months older than Apolo Ohno had been, Malixi Ohno made his Senior National Debut. Now with more than a dozen Junior and Senior world medals already attributed to him, and internationally ranked in the top five, he comes into these games as a hands-down favorite to not only medal but to win. It’s no surprise he’s doing so well, with the team he has supporting him, and the parents that guide him._

_“Malixi, how’s it feel to be getting ready for your first Olympic Games?”_

_“It’s amazing. I couldn’t be happier or more excited. I’ve been dreaming about this since I was four years old and I got to go to the Annecy games with my parents. It was the first time I’d ever seen short track before and I fell in love.”_

_“Did you know even then that this would be your future calling?”_

_“I think I did. I think my parents knew too. I remember sitting in my Dad’s lap watching the men’s 1000m semi, and just staring and being amazed at how fast they skated. I remember turning in his lap and begging to be taught how to do that.”_

_“What did he say?”_

_“He said if I wanted it hard enough, and worked for it hard enough, that he was sure I would make it here. And I did.”_

_“And now you’re here, getting ready for your first Olympic games? Do you miss your parents?”_

_“Why would I miss them? They’re here with me!” Malixi laughed._

_“They moved to Salt Lake City with you?”_

_“When I started doing well back out west, and I caught the eye of US Speedskating, they asked if I wanted to come out to SLC for the Junior Novice program they had here. My parents were unsure because they both had to work on the West Coast. They wanted me to train with my Uncle Jordan who was here, but they were concerned. Then they offered Apolo a coaching position. My Dad, JR still had work back in Seattle, so we started going back and forth. Every other weekend my PoPo and I would go home to see him. But that wasn’t really working too well. Within a few months he was moving to be here with us.”_

_“Let’s talk about your parents for a moment, if you don’t mind?”_

_“No, not at all. Ask away.”_

_“Is there a pressure to skate as good as your dad’s? To medal like they did? To break records?” Malixi thought a moment, biting his lip._

_“I think in the mind of everyone else there’s a pressure. An expectation almost, for me to do well, to do great really, and to medal. But I also think that isn’t something that anyone who really knows me or my parents feels. I don’t feel it. It’s not something that’s ever been on my mind really. My parents never told me I had to skate, or that I had to do well, or compared medal counts in front of me, or told me that I had to do better than them. They’re more proud of each other then they are of themselves. Their situations and experiences are incomparable really, and they don’t want to start comparing me to themselves in any way when it comes to titles or medals. So, no, I don’t feel extra pressure because of who my parents are. I think it’s a positive thing to have the family I do, and I don’t just mean my parents and my grandparents. But everyone I call family.”_

_“You talk about your family, who do you include in that family?”_

_  
“My parents, my grandparents, my uncles and aunts and cousins, but also the family we chose for ourselves. USA team couch Jordan Malone, who was on the 2010 relay team with my parents, has always been Uncle Jordan. I consider his wife Andrea, to be my Aunt Anne. Travis and Aly Jayner, who are now coaching in France, have always been Uncle Trav and Aunt Aly. Simon Cho, 7 time Olympic Medalist, is my Uncle Simon. He and my and Aunt Ashley live out in California, and are very involved in the novice training program out there.”_

_“That’s a whole lot of Olympic Medals backing you up there, Malixi.”_

_“Yes it is. Believe me I know! We counted it up once, what was it?” he asked, turning to look off camera._

_“26!” called a voice. Malixi nodded smiling, and repeating the number smiling._

_“26 Olympic Medals, spanning 5 Olympic games. And that doesn’t include the medals won by good friends of the family, who we’ve kept in contact with and have always been around.  I’m in the unique position of having grown up surrounded by so many Short Track legends, and to have many of them involved in my training and in teaching me how to skate from the very beginning. I’ve been to every single Olympic Games since I was born, except for the one when I was 8 months old. Not many short track skaters can say that.”_

_“Does it feel like an unfair advantage to you?_

_“I don’t consider it unfair. I consider it lucky. I’m very grateful for it. But I’m happy to have so many people who care about my sport in my life.”_

_“Did you feel pressure to go into Short Track?”_

_“Never. I mean, I knew it made my parents happy when I started skating, but I was too young to be selfless enough to do it for that reason alone.  I asked to start inline because I liked it. I begged to start ice because I was in love with it. I remember the day I figured out I would be old enough for the 2038 games. I was 10 years old, I was just starting on ice, and we were making our early plans for 2034, deciding whether or not we’d all be going or just a few of us, and I remember looking at the dates and thinking, wow I’ll be 12 by then, and then wow I’ll be 16 for 2038. And then I froze and I turned to my PoPo,” he paused, “that’s Apolo, and I said ‘I’ll be 16!’ and he looked at me and then to my Dad and said ‘He needs to go back through 1 st grade math, he can’t add!’ and my Dad, JR, laughed and looked at me, and said ‘You’re being silly, you’ll be 12!’,” Malixi smiled brightly, showing his teeth. _

_“And I remember shaking my head and saying, ‘No, in 2038, I’ll be 16!’ and I must have said it with a certain amount of urgency because they both stopped smiling, and looked at me with such concern. And I grinned at them and I just said it again and again. ‘I’ll be 16 in 2038, I’ll be 16 in 2038.’” Malixi shook his head. “PoPo caught on first, he kind of blinked, and looked at Dad and said ‘He’ll be old enough to qualify,’ really softly. And my Dad smiled and looked at me and he said ‘That’s 6 years. You think you’ll be ready in 6 years? Because 2042 isn’t that much further away, there’s no rush!’ I think I must have made a face because he laughed, and came over and he touched my face, and I looked up at him, and he smiled. He said ‘We’ll be proud if you never go to the Olympics. We’ll be proud if you never race a day in your life as long as you’re happy!’” Malixi grinned, his face lighting up. “So, no, I don’t feel any pressure to do what they did or to live up to what they’ve done or to beat their medal counts. This is my first Olympics. I’m going to do my best, to try my hardest, and to have no regrets. I think the great Apolo Anton Ohno and JR Celski will be happy no matter how well I do as long as I hold nothing back.”_

_“Do you ever fear getting injured like JR did just before the 2010 games?” Malixi frowned._

_“Honestly sometimes I think about it, briefly, usually when I’m in mid-fall. But I try not to dwell on it. My Dad still deals with the results of that injury. He still has to be careful when he skates inline or on ice. He’s started coaching too in Salt Lake City, but he can’t demonstrate turns like my PoPo can because his leg can’t take the strain. So my Dad works with us in the gym and on dry-land training most of the time. I’ve watched the video of him falling a million times, I have to listen on mute because I can’t handle my grandma screaming in fear. So I’m acutely aware that I could fall and hurt myself or seriously injure myself at any time. But I’m confident in my ability, I’m confident in my equipment, and I’m confident in the Salt Lake Ice. I’ve been on it nearly every day for the last 3 1/2 years. The skin-suits that we wear have gotten more and more advanced in the last 28 years, they’re stronger, more cut resistant. The material they’re made out of now is much much safer than the suit he was wearing when he was injured. So I don’t really worry about it, but I’m very aware that the danger is still there.”_

_“What races are you most looking forward too?”_

_“The 500m, and the 1000m, and the relay. Those are my favorites. I love the speed of the 500m, the strategy of the 1000m, and the teamwork of the relay. I’m the teams starter for that one, cause I’m quick off the line. I’m more of a sprinter than either of my parents were. I really like the quick tight races. So people should look for me to do better in the shorter races. I decided not to try for the 3000m, because it just exhausts me most of the time, or the 1500m, because I think it would just be too much to focus on, and we have guys on the team who are better at the longer races than I am. So right now I’m skating 2 individual races and the relay.”_

_“Do you and the other US skaters feel the weight of the relay legacy started with Apolo in 2006?”_

_“Oh, the medal every Olympics thing? I think we definitely don’t want to go down in history as the ones who broke the streak.” Malixi laughed. “No one wants to be known for something like that!”_

_“Do you have any pre-race rituals?” Malixi grinned before answering._

_“Yes!” he laughed. “My Dad always used to put his skates on left one first, and he always did it the exact same way. When I was first starting out he would help me get my inline skates on and I got so used to it, when I was a kid, that when I started putting them on myself I did it the same way. When I switched to ice I kept doing it and now it’s a good luck thing.”_

_“And you wear a bandana like your father, Apolo?”_

_“Yeah, I always have! As soon as I saw short track, I knew I wanted to do it. But I was only 4, and my parents were understandably worried about letting their clumsy four year old who could barely inline out on the ice with 16 in blades on his feet. So they waited until I was 10 to let me try ice, but by then I was so nervous about actually getting to do it. I remember my parents helped me get the padding and suit on, the shin guards, and gloves. The helped me get the skates on and gave me hugs, and I was shaking I was so scared. And my Po he told me it was ok, and that I didn’t have to if I didn’t want too. But I said no I wanted to I really did I was just nervous. He stood up and reached into his pocket, pulling out this old black bandana and he opened it up and folded it really precisely and he reached up and tied it around my head, and they stuck my helmet on top and sent me out.”_

_“And you were a natural?”_

_“No, I fell on my ass.” There was loud barking laughter from off set, and Malixi grinned. “They laughed and picked me back up, and I fell again, only this time I picked myself up. And I learned to not fall, well most of the time to not fall.”_

_“You seem like a very close family.”_

_“We are. I think my parents are the best parents in the whole world. They love me unconditionally and they think I can do anything. They’re so supportive of me. I couldn’t ask for better parents. They moved across the country so I could do this. My Dad gave up a job he’d had for like 18 years so that I wouldn’t have to miss him while I was gone. They love me and they love each other. That’s one thing I’ve never doubted, and never taken for granted.”_

_“We hear you get teased a little by the rest of the team..”_

_“The other guys kinda tease me, cause I’m the youngest guy on the team, and my parents and Uncle are coaches. When we first got to SLC I tried to be all professional while we were at the rink. ‘Yes, Coach Malone!’ or ‘Yes, Coach Ohno!’ The both looked at me like I was crazy!,” Malixi laughed.  “And then one day, I took a bad fall, twisted my ankle, and I sat on the ice and I was holding my leg, and I was only 12 years old, and it hurt really badly. I don’t remember where my Po was, off in his office or something, and my Uncle Jordan wasn’t there either, just one of the other coaches, Diane I think it was, and one of the older guys who was doing dry-land runs and gets them. And they come running up and there I am sprawled on the ice, clutching my ankle, trying to be all manly about it and not cry. And the two of them come scrambling out on the ice, in their sneakers, slipping and sliding to try and get to me as fast as possible. And I just lost it. I just started bawling. It was humiliating. But my Po, he just hugged me, and Uncle Jordan checked out my ankle, and said it was probably not broken, just sprained. And they helped me up and off the ice, and my Po sits down on the benches, and just pulls me into my lap, and my Uncle Jordan goes to get the medic on staff, and comes back looking all anxious and worried. It doesn’t get much more humiliating than that. Too be the youngest guy there, the kid of such great skaters, trying to be all mature and grown-up, and you’re sitting in your father’s lap crying because you fell down...” Malixi shook his head. “After that experience I didn’t care if anyone saw me as Apolo Ohno’s kid, or Coach Malone’s nephew. Because that’s what I was! So, I just skated. And when they called ‘Malixi!’ across the ice I called back ‘Yes, Po?’ or ‘Yes, Uncle J?’ instead of caring about formalities.”_

_“Were the guys accepting of you right away?”_

_“Mostly. I think there was a little bit of worry that I was being given a free ride because of my parents, instead of my ability. I think once they saw that I really could skate, and that I really could race, it was easier to accept me, despite my age. Even now I’m still the youngest guy. Most of the skaters my age are just now starting to train with the senior men. Neither of my parents were at the Olympics at 16. My PoPo didn’t make the team at my age, and my Dad was like 3 weeks too young to make trials at 15, so he didn’t get to go until he was 19. Even my Uncle Simon was already 18 when he made the Olympic Team. So I feel really really lucky to have qualified, and that I get this opportunity. I don’t know if I’m going to medal, or even if I’m going to make it to the finals. But I’m going to race my hardest, and do my best. Zero regrets!” Malixi smiled a bright winning smile._

 

 


End file.
